All's Fair in Love and Cast Signing, Part II
by sockie1000
Summary: Steve's getting his cast off tomorrow.  He should be happy, shouldn't he?  A sequel to All's Fair in Love and Cast Signing and further tag to episode 1.20 "Ma Ke Kahakai".


Title: All's Fair in Love and Cast Signing, Part II

Author: sockie1000

Disclaimers: the usual

Summary: Steve's getting his cast off tomorrow. He should be happy, shouldn't he? A sequel to All's Fair in Love and Cast Signing. And, yes, you pretty much need to read part I for part II to make sense. (If you haven't read it, you can find it by clicking on my name).

Author's Note #1: I was floored by the overwhelming response to part I. You guys are the best and all the reviews and favs made me a very, very happy camper! I hope you like part II as well. :)

A/N#2: Thanks again to Cokie316. Without her, the plot bunnies for the All's Fair stories never would have hopped into my mind.

******************************************************H50*************************************************

"So, who's Steve?"

"Excuse me?"

"Who's Steve?" the server asked again, eyeing Steve's cast.

"He's Steve," Danny said, pointing to his partner. Then he gave his best smile, held out his hand, and said, "and I'm Danny."

"Oh! Well, hi, Danny." The server immediately diverted her attention from Steve to Danny. She smiled back at him and shook his hand. "I'm Michelle."

Danny beamed.

Steve rolled his eyes. Not again.

In the eight long, torturous weeks that he had been wearing his arm cast, this exact scene had played out at least a dozen times. Some cute, pretty female would approach them, read Steve's cast, and immediately her eyes would light up.

The rest was a foregone conclusion.

A piece of paper would magically appear, either presented by the lady of the day, or from a seemingly endless supply that Danny had magically started carrying. Numbers would be written down. Sometimes she wrote down Steve's number. Sometimes she wrote down Danny's. Sometimes, she wrote down both. And then later that day, or perhaps the next day, Danny's phone would ring and a message would be left.

And, just as predicted, Michelle took out her order pad, looked at Steve's cast, and wrote down some numbers. Which numbers she wrote down, Steve was not sure. Not that it really mattered. Danny would wind up with the date.

Steve gave Michelle a thin smile and looked down at his cast.

Just one more day and it would be gone. Along with Danny's messy black sharpie scrawl that read:

For a good time, call Steve- 555-3765.  
>For a better time, call Danny- 555-9766.<p>

For Steve, tomorrow could not come soon enough.

"You ready to go?" Steve asked Danny.

"I am now," Danny replied, smiling.

Both men stood up, said goodbye to Michelle, and left the restaurant.

Steve was silent all the way to the car. He opened the door and climbed in the driver's side while Danny climbed into the passenger side. He started up the car and pulled onto the road, lost in thought.

Steve had been annoyed when Danny wrote both of their phone numbers on his cast. Very annoyed. It was a good thing it had happened on a Friday night, so Steve could cool down over the weekend. It took everything inside of him not to hunt down Danny that next morning.

But there had been some benefit to Danny's late night high jinks.

Women started coming out of the woodwork. Not that Steve ever had that much trouble attracting female attention, but having phone numbers on his cast took it to a whole new stratosphere.

And Danny's phone began ringing off the hook.

Like any good wingman, Steve was happy for Danny. He had been hung up on Rachel far too long. After all, she had already re-married. It was time for him to move on. And if carrying around a portable personal ad for his partner helped in that endeavor, Steve was fine with that. Having members of the opposite sex around made Danny happier and got him out of his miserable apartment. And, after all, a happier Danny meant a happier workplace and, therefore, a happier Steve.

But it was strange. While Danny had tons of women calling him, and quite a few dates set as a result, Steve had yet to talk to a single interested female. Not that he was really looking. After all, he was happy with Cath. He wished the Enterprise docked a little more frequently, but that was something he could live with. He knew the life. He had lived it for years. Having someone around all the time would be really strange. He wasn't sure he really wanted that. At least, not yet. But still… eight weeks... and no interest at all?

Steve wasn't really hung up on ego. He was used to the looks and the smiles from women. For the most part, he politely ignored them. After all, he was happy, right? But the fact that not a single lady had left him a message was a little bit…. disconcerting.

"Wondering why you haven't been getting dates?" Danny asked.

"What makes you think that?" Steve said, looking over at Danny.

"You've been looking at your cast more than the road for the past 5 minutes. It's not that hard to know what you're thinking. It's written all over your face."

Steve frowned. He wasn't exactly thrilled that Danny always seemed to be able to read his mind.

"Maybe you should try actually picking up your phone, instead of letting it go to voice mail all the time," Danny suggested.

Steve shook his head. "I don't take personal calls during work. You know that."

"Yes, I do." Danny nodded. "And while your work ethic is commendable, it really does not help your social life."

Steve shrugged. "Maybe. But if they're really interested, they'll leave a message."

"Really?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning. "When was the last time you listened to your message?"

Steve thought for a minute. He had not listened to or changed his message since he took over 5-0. It was still the same message he used while serving full time in the Navy. It was short, to the point, and said, "leave a message." Nothing else.

"It's been a while," Steve admitted. "You really think I should change it?"

Danny nodded again, still smiling. "Yes, I really do."

Maybe Danny was right, Steve thought. His old message had worked just fine, when his only calls came from other people in the military. But now, he was dealing with civilians. Maybe a nicer approach would work better. He should probably at least say his name.

"I'll think about it," Steve said.

"Suit yourself," Danny answered. "So, what time is the cast coming off tomorrow?"

"At 10:00 a.m.," Steve replied. "And not a moment too soon."

Steve pulled into the parking lot at the 5-0 headquarters and both he and Danny exited the car and went inside.

The afternoon was filled with completing dull paperwork from their latest case in their offices. Steve was glad to see five o'clock roll around. He was tired from the week and really wanted nothing more than to go home, sit on a chair in his backyard with a beer, and watch the tide roll in.

He looked up when Danny stopped by his office on his way out for the weekend. Danny leaned on the frame of Steve's office door and crossed his arms.

"Look at you," Steve said, noting Danny's fresh shirt and tie and perfectly smoothed hair. "So, what's her name?"

Danny grinned. "Stephanie."

"Stephanie…" Steve pondered for a minute. "Wait, is she the nurse from the hospital last week?"

"That's the one," Danny grinned. "We're meeting for drinks at the Tropics Bar."

"Well, you kids have a nice time," Steve said.

"You know, you'd have a date, too, if you'd just answer your phone," Danny said, still grinning.

"Yeah, I know. Or change my message. I heard you perfectly fine in the car."

"So, are you going to do it?" Danny asked.

Steve shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, let me know what you decide. And have a nice weekend." Danny waved as he walked out the door.

"You, too," Steve called after him.

Steve sat at his desk for a few minutes, looking at his cast and thinking over what Danny had said.

Steve really did not think he could possibly like a woman who could be so intimidated by a voice mail greeting, or lack thereof, that she would hang up without leaving a message. But still, he couldn't help but notice that over the past eight weeks, he had gotten plenty of calls from unknown numbers. And none of them ever left messages. Maybe Danny really did have a point.

Steve pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment. Then he sighed. What the heck, he reasoned, changing his message couldn't hurt.

He punched in the numbers to navigate to the cell phone greeting. He decided to listen to it one more time before he changed it. Maybe it was worse than he remembered.

The message began to play. And Steve was horrified.

It was worse than he remembered.

Way worse.

It wasn't even his voice.

It was Danny's.

"Hi, this is Steve," the message said. "If a five-mile run on the beach in full combat gear, followed by a flare-lit dinner of MREs and crickets, sounds like fun, please leave me a message. Otherwise, please call Danny at 555-9766."

_Fin_

*************************************************H50***************************************************


End file.
